Each choice, of course, stems from key tenets of the beliefs about
lnaguage, oral and written, each group holds. But it also becomes a
constraint on the research design and the interpretation of the results.
In reading research which focusses on the word as a unit findings are
limited to words and has little value in learning how people make sense
of texts. But such research is taken to support the word-focus that
underlies the design and interpretation of the findings.
There is always a temptation in language research including literacy
research to reduce the focus to small units, often in isolation from
authentic texts. Much of that pressure comes from inappropriate
experimental designs.
Ken Goodman
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Kenneth S. Goodman, Professor, Language, Reading & Culture
504 College of Education, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
fax 520 7456895 phone 520 6217868
These are mean times- and in the mean time
We need to Learn to Live Under Water